


Addendum

by Solitude_Rising



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Flashbacks, Implied Relationships, Internal Monologue, Post-Canon, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 09:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21717553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solitude_Rising/pseuds/Solitude_Rising
Summary: A Hordak and Entrapta-focused Season 4 accompaniment series. Stories set during and between Season 4 episodes that explore Entrapta and Hordak's feelings. Post-Season 4 development in later chapters. Contains implied romantic feelings, angst and emotional pain.Can be taken as a continuation of my previous 'Moments' series written for Seasons 1-3, but also can be read separately as just a companion series to Season 4.Chapter 12: Into the mind of Horde Prime.
Relationships: Bow/Entrapta (She-Ra), Catra/Hordak (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 52
Kudos: 246





	1. Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Set right after the first episode of season 4. Reeling after Catra’s surprise attack, Hordak struggles to pull himself together.

Hordak couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe how swiftly and easily Catra had ambushed him right in his throne room; how quickly and viciously she had ripped out the power crystal from his collar and taken him down. Now, lying forwards on the floor, he was disabled, his deactivated armour crackling and weighing his body down, the empty slot in his collar frizzling from the violent loss of its crystal. This should not have been possible. He should not have been defeated like this. Yet here he was, little better than an injured dog – a dog who had been beaten by a cat. He looked up at the cat, his Second-in-Command, sporting a new outfit, standing above him triumphantly, his crystal in her grip.

“What do you want?” he muttered. Slowly, he pushed himself up onto all fours.

“We’re done with your little vanity projects,” Catra asserted as she took a seat on Hordak’s throne. “It’s time to crush the Rebellion for good.” She held up her fist and her lips rose cruelly. “And you’re going to help me do that.”

Her claws opened, dropping the precious possession that she had taken from him: Entrapta’s crystal. It clinked onto the floor and Hordak crawled forward immediately to reclaim it. As he reached for the crystal and hurriedly enclosed his hand around it, he forced down his humiliation and anger with a growl before glaring back up at Catra again.

“I think you and I are going to do great things together,” Catra stated coolly with a wicked smile, crossing her legs.

Hordak, teeth gritted, snatched his crystal back, but remained motionless. Unable to stand without the power crystal in his armour, he had been reduced to crawling before his Second-in-Command. He watched her smiling down at him in a self-assured manner. He loathed to admit it, but he had underestimated her. She was clever and dangerous, more so than he had cared to admit, and bold enough to have taken advantage of him when he was vulnerable. She had cut out the lights and taken him by surprise in order to expose his weakness, ripping Entrapta’s power crystal from his collar with such speed and ferocity that he had not had the chance to even react. And now, he was at her mercy.

“From now on, you’re going to listen to what I say,” she instructed smoothly, “you’re going to let me give orders to our soldiers as I see fit, and together we’re going to conquer the rest of Etheria and bring the Rebellion down for good.” She uncrossed her legs and stood up. Kneeling down on one leg in front of Hordak, she smiled confidently again. “You’ll thank me for this later.” With that, she rose again and proceeded to stroll past Hordak, leaving him helpless on the floor as she headed for the doors of his throne room.

He waited for the sound of the doors closing behind her before he dragged himself forward toward his throne. He threw himself backwards underneath an armrest in an upright sitting position, grunting with the effort. For a few moments, he remained still, breathing heavily, waiting to regain some strength.

He cursed himself silently. He should have seen this coming. He knew Catra was ambitious and daring. He should have anticipated a power play from her, been prepared for it. But he was not himself. He had been…distracted. His thoughts kept revolving around…her…Entrapta…how she had left him…betrayed him…Since the destruction of the portal, he had been unable to think about anything else. Even now, in his abject humiliation after being taken down by his Second-in-Command, crippled and struggling on the floor of his throne room, she still filled his thoughts, bringing him a pain as great as that he had known when Horde Prime had tossed him aside...He was emotionally compromised…He knew it…And he could not stop it...He could not stop himself from feeling…

Something had shifted…changed in him, something Entrapta had started, something tentative, fragile…But now that change, whatever it was, felt like it had been ripped away with her disappearance, and he was sinking backwards…

He dropped his head to the side and looked down at his hand, unfurling his fingers to reveal the precious crystal that had so nearly been taken from him. He gazed down at it, diamond-shaped, fuchsia-coloured, glowing softly in his palm, unknown First Ones’ symbols engraved on it…Entrapta’s last gift to him...

_“I scrounged up a few more pieces of First Ones’ Tech and I can’t think of a better use for it than this!”_

His expression softened. It was her, a piece of her, continuing to remind him, torment him. Even now, in her absence, she held onto him and he onto her through it. It was his power source, his reminder of her, his heart…

He cursed himself again. Entrapta had betrayed him, yet he still needed her armour, her crystal. He still needed…her…to feel her, to have her armour around him, protecting him, and her crystal giving him strength…simultaneously a treasured gift and a painful reminder of her betrayal that he wore at all times.

He brought the crystal up to his collar and, with his other hand, he located the delicate wires that had been snapped from the crystal when it had been ripped out by Catra. Carefully, he worked to reattach the crystal to the wires. As he slotted the crystal back into place, strength almost instantly returned to his body. He exhaled and dropped his head back onto his throne’s armrest. He was so tired, so numb, so spent. He had little desire for anything now. His spirit had been swallowed by a blackhole.

Entrapta was gone. He would have to work with Catra now. She knew his weaknesses. She knew where to strike him physically. She knew that he needed to return to Horde Prime victorious. Though she had amply demonstrated her ability to take him down, Catra had offered to help him with conquering the rest of Etheria before Prime’s arrival. For better or worse, she was his only ally now. She had given him no choice but to accept her assistance. He would have to trust her now. But perhaps she could yield results for him.

He shut his eyes. In the end, as long as he could prove his worth to Prime, none of this would matter. Entrapta’s betrayal, Catra’s humiliation, it would all have been worth it to re-join his brother by his side. That was all he had left now. When he offered Etheria up to him, Prime would finally see his value and accept him back. He would no longer have need of anything or anyone else ever again.

He would have his brother’s coveted approval. He would be welcomed home. He would no longer have to feel pain or hurt. He would finally be loved and at peace.


	2. Remnants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lead-up to episode 6, 'Princess Scorpia', of Season 4. As Hordak puts his Sanctum back together, he uncovers Entrapta’s last research before her departure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a short, angsty one. Wanted to do a little background to how Hordak came across the research of Entrapta's that led to the creation of his new weapon. Enjoy!

The Sanctum had been in shambles following the activation of the portal. For a while, Hordak had been content to leave it in its state of disrepair and wallow amongst the broken parts of his once precious projects...projects he had shared with Entrapta…He’d had little desire to do anything more than surround himself with the reminders of their time together…painful as they were. But Catra would not allow that. Almost as soon as she had asserted her authority over him, she had ordered him to ‘pull himself together’ and ‘clean up’ the next day. She’d made it clear: his time for wallowing was up.

With the back of his long arm, Hordak swept aside broken components and pieces of metal on the table he was leaning over. His Sanctum, previously in disarray, was now almost restored to its former ordered state, save for a few remaining spots of clutter and debris.

As Hordak cleared the junk on the work table he was standing over, his crimson eyes drifted to the far side of the table. He noticed a long roll of paper laying there, near the end of the table. He paused, looking at it, then reached over to pick it up. He unfurled the paper between his talons. His brows slowly lifted. It was a design sheet. There were several drawings and diagrams on it, plans for a new piece of technology…He recognised the chaotically-organised yet clearly drawn lines. It was one of Entrapta’s design plans…for a new high-energy weapon…

It was her last piece of research before she had left, he realised.

_This is what she left behind._

He laid the large sheet down on the table quickly and began running his eyes over the design plans it contained. Entrapta…what had she been intending to build before she had departed? What if there was more to her betrayal than he knew? He scanned the plans, desperate, hopeful…It looked like a large-sized weapon…a canon…that could fire a high-intensity energy beam…with a longer body length and a wide discharge diameter…not big enough to be a tank weapon, but seemingly over-sized by the average Etherian’s body standards…Who did she imagine could wield such a hefty weapon? Was it for a new battle drone? Then he saw, to his surprise, something written near the bottom of the sheet: ’Integrated weapon for Hordak’s new armour’.

His breath stilled. Entrapta had created these weapon plans…for him…

She had been designing a new weapon of mass destruction…to integrate with the new armour she had created for him. It was for him…

_But why would she…?_

It did not make sense. Why would she have started working on this weapon for him if she had been intending to…leave him? Hordak narrowed his eyes, thinking. He studied the weapon design plans laid out before him. She had drawn out the components for a canon that could fire a high-density beam of destructive energy. It would draw its power from another First Ones’ power crystal mined from Dryl. It would have been an impressive weapon. Hordak’s brow furrowed. What if…Entrapta had simply been intending to use him to test the prototype for this new weapon? If his prototype had proven successful, perhaps she would then have made improved compact versions for the Princesses later to use against his forces. His hands curled over the sheet and he dropped his gaze from it.

_Entrapta…why did you…leave me?_

The cavernous pit of despair threatened to tear open within him again. He tried momentarily to suppress it, to numb it, but he found he did not have the strength or the desire to do so. He allowed the pain to grip him and the onslaught of memories about her to flood through his mind: her exuberance, her unique high-pitched voice, her impossibly long lilac hair, her striking magenta eyes, her soft smile…He shut his eyes and exhaled heavily. His talons rose instinctively to the crystal in his collar.

He opened his eyes again and looked down at the weapon plans before him. His hand ran across the illustrations slowly, tenderly...stroking the drawings…Entrapta’s drawings…

He would make the weapon. He would finish her last work. He would use it to conquer Etheria and defeat the Rebellion. It would be the tool that would make him victorious and worthy of a place beside his brother...Even in her absence, Entrapta’s work would still assist him.

It would be her last ‘gift’ to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so he had evidence of Entrapta’s loyalty right there before him, but, because he’s such an insecure individual that is more willing to believe the worst about anyone close to him, he doesn’t see it. So close to figuring out the truth and yet so far. Hordak, you poor, sweet, heartbroken moron.


	3. Just Us Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after episode 6 of Season 4. As Catra and Hordak prepare to invade Salineas, Hordak ponders his new partnership with Catra and the possibility of seeing Entrapta again.

In his Sanctum, Hordak was making the final touches on his new weapon, one that would ensure his victory when they marched on the sea kingdom Salineas. As he worked to attach the final plate over the canon, his last interaction with Catra replayed in his mind. She had been driven, impassioned even, in her words:

_“You don’t **need** Entrapta. You never **did**! You don’t **need** a Princess in your life telling you what to do! LOOK at what you’ve done without her! You built an army, an empire!...You and me…we don’t need anyone. Forget them all! No-one else matters! Nothing matters but this mission!...You want to prove yourself? Prove your worth? Then DO IT! You and I are going to conquer Etheria and then…and then they’ll ALL see!”_

It was clear that conquering Etheria was personal for her, as it was for him. They both needed to prove their worth. They were similar in that respect. Despite the fact that she did not hesitate to remind him of her awareness of his weakness and her willingness to exploit it, he had to admit that their goals were now aligned. They both were determined to conquer Etheria and defeat the Princesses at all costs. This was what bound them together now.

They had both being hurt by the Princesses on a personal level. Catra had been abandoned by Adora when she left the Horde for the Princesses. And now Hordak himself had been abandoned by Entrapta for the Princesses too. They both needed to see the Princesses and their Rebellion defeated.

They were united now in their hatred of the Princesses and their desire to conquer all of Etheria.

But of course, for Hordak, his ultimate goal was to prove his worth to Horde Prime and re-join him by his side. Catra knew this too and was helping him towards achieving this. Though he hated the humiliation of her having taken joint command of the Horde from him by force, he saw now that it was becoming a partnership of mutual benefit, as she had promised. She was his new partner-in-crime.

The irony of how he had once wanted to get rid of her but now was working in close partnership with her was not lost on him. Everything had been turned upside down. It was as if fate was delighting in twisting his life. He had previously trusted Entrapta and distrusted Catra, now it was the other way around. How had things spiralled so far out of his control? He had wanted Catra sent to Beast Island for her incompetence and lies before, but Entrapta had stopped him. She would live to regret the mercy she had shown Catra he thought darkly, and she would come to regret betraying him. He would see her again on the battlefield and ensure it.

He stared at the new canon laid on the table before him, admiring it. White shell with red lines and a pulsating red battery pack. It was magnificent. Entrapta would have loved to…Hordak halted the thought as it begun. Unconsciously, his hand rose to her power crystal in his collar, delicately touching it. He refocused on the weapon before him. Entrapta’s final research before her departure had gifted him with a powerful new weapon, and now he would use it against the Princesses, perhaps even against her…

An image came into Hordak’s mind of Entrapta, standing at the other side of a battlefield, surrounded by wreckage and flames, her long lilac hair flowing in the wind behind her, staring back at him, her eyes glistening with tears as she saw his canon raised at her…

Hordak blinked, shaking his head, immediately shutting down the image. He did not want to see what came next. No. If he were to ever see Entrapta again in battle, he would not kill her he decided. Perhaps he would take her prisoner instead. She could be made to serve the Horde again, made to serve him. Once he had crushed the Rebellion and shown her the error of her betrayal, perhaps she would be receptive to returning to him again…She would be his prize…Hordak smiled. Yes, he could have her back. She would be his again…

The doors behind him opened. He straightened himself as he heard Catra’s footsteps approaching.

“Lord Hordak, everything is on schedule,” she reported smoothly. “How goes your little weapon project?”

He picked up the canon and slid it over his right arm. It clicked into place. “It is ready.” Hoisting up the hefty weapon, he turned to face her. “Are our forces ready?”

Catra flicked a claw, smiling. “They await our command.”

Hordak nodded. “Good. Prepare the troops for departure. I will join you outside shortly.”

Catra smiled deviously. “The Princesses won’t know what hit them.”

He smiled maliciously in return. “Yess, if all goes as planned, this will be a significant victory for…us.” The last word came out quietly.

Catra slid up to Hordak, smiling still. “You and I, we’re going to win this. It’ll all be worth it. You’ll see. You’ll see that I was right, that you don’t need Entrapta, that all you need…is me.”

Hordak froze momentarily. Then his face hardened and he looked away from Catra. “Get the troops ready,” he stated coldly. “We move out within the hour.” He turned his back to her.

Catra’s face darkened subtly, but she turned to exit. She stopped as the doors opened and glanced back at Hordak. “We’re in this together now,” she stated firmly. “Better get used to it.” With that, she strode out.

Hordak stood looking ahead at nothing in particular.

_“We’re in this together now. Better get used to it.”_

Catra…

His teeth gritted.

_“We’ll just keep working on it until it’s perfect.”_

Entrapta…

His head and arms dropped.

_We should have been together, Entrapta…Why did you leave me like this?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s going to be quite a few chapters focused on Hordak’s feelings, memories and POV as Season 4 was a goldmine for him! But I promise later chapters will go into Entrapta’s POV too.


	4. Conquered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after episode 7: 'Mer-Mysteries' of Season 4. Having conquered Salineas, Hordak is reminded of how the Scorpion Kingdom fell to the Horde.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and here's to a fantastic New Year! May 2020 bring us great things and more She-Ra goodness!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has left comments and kudos on this fic. Always appreciated!
> 
> Season 4's 'Princess Scorpia' episode hinted at Scorpia's background and I thought it would be good to try and flesh out the events that lead to the fall of her family and kingdom for this chapter.

Atop a Horde naval ship, Hordak gazed out at the fractured magical sea gate of the Kingdom of Salineas. He observed the smoke rising from the conquered kingdom, the gaping wounds he had inflicted on the gate with his weapon…It had gone flawlessly. The sea kingdom had been unguarded as Catra had planned. There had been no resistance. And the sea gate had simply crumbled under the raw destructive power of his new canon. Thanks to Entrapta’s final research before her…betrayal, the new weapon had ensured his and Catra’s swift victory. Salineas, and the Seas of Etheria by extension, were now theirs.

As he calmly watched the broken sea gate and the burning kingdom behind it, his thoughts drifted to memories of an earlier conquest…

_King Scorpius was **not** a friend. He **never** had been. But…he had been a useful ally._

_My first days on this backwater planet were difficult, but I had been fortunate. When I fell through the portal, I crashed into a lake in what I would come to learn was the ‘Black Kingdom’, a kingdom ruled by the Scorpion people. My broken ship and I were discovered by them and I was brought to their palace and before their King. King Scorpius was a dark-haired man, tall and imposing by Etherian standards I presume. He had progeny, a daughter, also dark-haired and tall of stature: Princess Scorpiona. She was in an ‘engagement’, as they termed it, to a Lady Clawren, white-haired and slimmer of build. I would come to know this royal family well._

_They possessed rough exo-shells, natural body armour; pincers instead of fingered hands, more suited for cutting, crushing and combat purposes; and long, sharp-ended, poison-tipped tails. Ideally evolved soldiers. But despite their threatening outward appearance, they were, surprisingly, optimistic and trusting people. Seeing that I was alone and lost, they took me in. Foolish. They offered me their hospitality, medical facilities, shelter, sources of sustenance. I became familiar with their ways and their culture. One of their odd practices involved the making of dark-coloured solutions to paint their hair and faces with, to improve their appearance. They called these hair ‘dye’ and ‘make-up’. I became curious about them._

_Lady Clawren offered to alter my appearance one day by applying black solution around my eyes and ‘dying’ my hair a dark blue colour. I found myself fascinated with the result. I had been a blank canvas before as a clone of Horde Prime. But now, I looked…different...distinguishable from my other brothers in the Horde. It was a revelation to me, that I could be…different. I learnt how to make these colours and began using them thereafter on myself. Soon after, I gave myself a designation, a name, as everyone else on Etheria did. I was of the Horde, a clone of the eminent Horde Prime, I would be…‘Hord-ak’._

_I found establishing an identity for myself made me recognisable to others and aided me in forging a closer relationship with the Scorpion royal family. They seemed to appreciate having a name to call me by. I came to study their resources, their tools, their technology, all primitive compared to the Horde technology I was used to, but serviceable enough. And I also learnt about their most powerful magical artifact: the Black Garnet Runestone. It stood outside of the royal castle, a landmark of the kingdom, channelling great power to King Scorpius and Princess Scorpiona. It was their kingdom’s greatest source of power and defence from outside forces._

_The Scorpion people were not without rivals and enemies. They had experienced hostilities and challenges from other kingdoms in the past, skirmishes over territory and inter-kingdom disputes. They were fearful of the neighbouring Fire Kingdom and had not been on the most favourable of terms with the largest kingdom of Bright Moon. I would learn that the Scorpion royal family were not the most trusted or well-liked of Etherian royals, largely because of their threatening outward appearance and hazardous physical features. Other kingdoms viewed the Scopion race as potentially hostile and aggressive. Because of this distrust and dislike, the Black Kingdom was an isolated one, apart from the others, not only geographically, but in terms of relations as well. This would ultimately prove to be the kingdom’s downfall._

_I became a close confidant of King Scorpius as he shared his secret fears over the future of his kingdom with me. He told me of his anxieties over the continued survival of his people should the Fire Kingdom ever decide to move against them and subsume them into their territory. He did not believe that the other kingdoms of Etheria would come to their aid if that were ever to happen. I listened and finally proposed a solution. I offered to improve and strengthen the Black Kingdom’s infrastructure and defences with Horde technology. I convinced King Scorpius of the benefits of integrating my technology with his kingdom’s. Slowly, by reverse-engineering Horde technology from my broken ship, I began to build new weapons for the Scorpion people and, with their manual assistance, I created the foundations for new Horde technology-influenced architecture._

_I did not stop there. I offered to train the Scorpion defence forces as well and encouraged their expansion with new recruits from not only within their own kingdom, but from outside as well. As cloning more soldiers was not an option here, persuasion and propaganda were necessary to entice new recruits to the cause. Gradually, I turned them from a mere defence force into an army capable of conquest. They were the beginning of my new Horde army on Etheria. The time came when the Fire Kingdom marched on the Black Kingdom, and we were ready. I had laid out strategies and plans to achieve victory. Alongside King Scorpius, we led our army to defeat the Fire Kingdom invaders. Since been cast out and sent to die by Horde Prime for my defects, I had been without purpose and direction. I had been lost and abandoned, fallen from grace. But now, for a brief time, I was a General in battle again. I was victorious and worthy again. I had value and purpose again._

_King Scorpius thought that was the end of our need for an army, but I told him otherwise. I told him that we could not afford to allow ourselves to fall back into complacency and leave ourselves vulnerable to future attacks. We needed to maintain strong military capabilities. We needed to continue building our technological advancements and expanding our forces. King Scorpius hesitated. He was reluctant. He was weak. So, I made the decision for him._

_I gathered a small force and stormed the Scorpion royal castle. I cornered King Scopius in his throne room and delivered an ultimatum: join me and become part of the glorious Horde Empire, or face destruction. He wisely chose the former. My terms were fair. As part of our agreement, I would manage the Black Garnet Runestone and maintain and command our army. In exchange, I would protect the less-abled members of his kingdom and preserve the lives of all his family: his daughter, her wife and their new born child, but their royal titles would be stripped henceforth. They would no longer be ‘Princesses’. There was no place for such titles in my army. They would be assimilated into and taken care of within my new Horde army. In joining the Horde army, they would ensure their people’s survival and be part of the greater Horde’s glorious mission of conquest. Their contribution and loyalty would be recognised and rewarded. And their kingdom would develop and rise through the continued building of Horde technological advancements and infrastructure, but it would no longer be known as the Black Kingdom. It would be renamed: ‘The Fright Zone’, and it would serve as my base of operations from which to conquer the rest of Etheria. In time, all would be a part of the Horde Empire._

_I would return to Horde Prime one day, having conquered the planet, victorious and worthy, proving him wrong to have discarded me as a ‘defect’. He would recognise my achievements and accept me back into the greater Horde, and I would finally re-join him by his side, as an equal._

The floor beneath Hordak’s feet stopped thrumming and came to a standstill as the sound of the ship’s engine ceased. He looked ahead to see the shore of the sea kingdom Salineas laid out before him.

“Lord Hordak, we’ve reached shore,” a Horde soldier reported.

Hordak simply nodded. “Disembark and claim the kingdom for the Horde. Salineas is ours.”

“Yes Sir!” The soldier saluted and jogged off.

As Horde soldiers lowered a ramp over the side of the ship for disembarkation, Hordak smiled up at the sight of the conquered sea kingdom before him. This victory brought him and Catra another step closer to their goal of conquering all of Etheria, a goal that, until not so long ago, he had been losing faith in. It brought him closer to becoming worthy of his brother, Horde Prime, again. It brought him closer to reuniting with him. He could almost touch that dream now, after all his years stranded on this backwater planet that had given him nothing but grief, pain and heartache. Success had been a long time coming for him, but now, at last, he could see the horizon, an end to his struggles…

Within him, familiar old feelings rose. In this moment, standing over the battlefield triumphant, he was a General in battle again. He was victorious and worthy again. And he had value and purpose again.


	5. Descent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra couldn't have sent the tech princess to a better location. Stranded on Beast Island, Entrapta records her progress and survival there. But is all perfect in 'paradise' for her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2020 all! So we finally get to an Entrapta chapter! This one's a lead-up to episode 11, 'Beast Island' of Season 4. Written in Entrapta's voice in the form of her recordings. How did Entrapta survive on Beast Island? Was it really paradise for her? And did she really come out of it unchanged?
> 
> Kudos and comments appreciated as always!

_“Beast Island Log, Day 1: I am no longer in the Fright Zone. I have awoken to find myself in unfamiliar surroundings. It appears to be an isolated island in the middle of the sea surrounded by heavy fog. The readings on the Horde transport skiff I awoke in name this location as ‘Beast Island’. It would appear that the stories Scorpia told me about this place are true. Beast Island **does** exist! And contrary to initial expectations, there is more to this island than just flora and fauna, so much more! I have discovered a plethora of First One’s technology integrated into the island itself that appear to have been discarded over time! It’s a treasure trove of First Ones’ tech! Much of it is degenerated, broken down and corrupted, but some of it still seems intact! I believe this place may yield fascinating data and tech! I will explore further and collect what I can. I think…Catra sent me here…Why, I’m not sure...She knocked me out…She was angry when I refused to open the portal…The data…was **wrong**…I don’t think she’s my friend…But…Scorpia…is she still my friend? Or is she Catra’s friend? And Hordak…does he know I’m here?”_

_“Beast Island Log, Day 2: Is it day 2? I’m not sure. I can’t seem to see the moons from here. I don’t know if a day has actually passed. It must have though by my estimates. I’ve identified some sources of sustenance on the island: arthropod insects, larger than any I’ve seen before. Their exterior shell is pleasantly crunchy and they’re quite juicy on the inside! I’ve been laying improvised traps for them and selecting the smaller specimens from my catches for my dietary needs. Thus far, I’ve been using the Horde skiff I arrived in for materials. It’s not much, but I’ve managed to recycle some of the plating as shelter from the elements. I’ve also begun collecting pieces of scrap metal and tech from around the island. Not sure how long I’ll be here. Need to build something that’ll help me get around. My mask was broken when I crashed here too. I’ll need to make another one. Hordak undoubtedly will have noticed my absence by now. He might be looking for me. As soon as he knows where I am, I’m sure he’ll come find me.”_

_“Beast Island Log, Time Cycle 4…5…: The lack of a visible sky due to the overarching canopy within this island and the fog beyond make it hard maintaining an accurate sense of the passage of time here. I’m not sure how many days have actually passed, so I’ve decided to prefix my logs with a more general term for a time period. I’ll be using ‘time cycle’ from now on. There’s been no sign of rescue yet…I can’t be sure whether Hordak or Scorpia or anyone is coming for me…I guess it’s possible that…they’ve been delayed? Maybe the portal’s deactivation caused significant damage and setbacks in the Fright Zone. Maybe Hordak’s caught up in repairs…Anyway, I’ve kept myself busy! I’ve built myself a new mask from my collected scrap metal and tech to replace my broken one! I based its design on the head of some of the ants I’ve observed here. It seems appropriate for this place. In addition, I’ve started constructing a mobile automaton for transportation use. I’m incorporating some First Ones’ A.I. tech into her. She’s gonna be big enough to fit me inside. She’ll be Emily’s Big Cousin, E.B.C.! She could be my most impressive invention yet! Now if only I had my tools back in the Sanctum…and my lab partner’s assistance…”_

_“Beast Island Log, Time Cycle 8: E.B.C. is finally up and running and she’s a beauty! I’ve given her an initial test-run and she’s a resounding success! I built her with multi-functional limbs to walk, run, climb and jump around the island, and her armoured shell keeps me protected from external dangers. She was able to fend off hostile creatures as well when we encountered a pack of ‘Pookas’, small but deadly one-eyed creatures. At least, I believe that’s what they were from Scorpia’s previous anecdotal descriptions…In conclusion, E.B.C. is the perfect programmed guardian and companion! With her, I’ll be able to travel around the island much more conveniently, efficiently and safely. She’s going to be my best friend here!...Maybe my only friend…I…don’t know if Hordak is coming for me anymore…It’s been too long. The chances of a rescue seem unlikely now…Maybe the portal succeeded in sending a signal through to Horde Prime…Maybe Hordak’s gone back to him now…back to the original Horde that he came from…That’s what he really wanted after all…I guess I shouldn’t be surprised…And…if he’s back home with his big brother, then I guess I’m happy for him…But…I just wish…I wanted…him to stay with me a little longer…I wanted…not to be left behind…again.”_

_“Beast Island Log, Time Cycle 10: I’ve ventured further into the island. I’ve observed strange things there: giant, deadly tech beasts, black vines growing over the corpses of creatures, and I’ve begun to detect a strange signal that seems to emanate from somewhere deep within the island. It seems to grow stronger the further inland one moves. It has a disorienting effect. I suspect that the source of this signal is somewhere in the centre of the island. It might be some kind of powerful First Ones’ tech! I intend to investigate. Fortunately, E.B.C.’s armour helps to block out the sound enough to make it tolerable for me. I have a suspicion that prolonged direct exposure to the signal might be part of the reason for the corpses on the ground covered in the vines. I wonder if any of these unfortunate victims were abandoned by friends too…Hypothesis: maybe friends are unnecessary. Previous personal experiences strongly support the idea that trusting others has been hazardous to my wellbeing. ‘Friends’ have been unreliable and untrustworthy in my experience to date. Others have a tendency to forget about me and leave me behind. Perhaps been left on this island wasn’t such a bad thing after all. There’s so much to explore and learn here! And at least now I can focus on my scientific endeavours uninterrupted, and I don’t have to worry about understanding or being misunderstood by others anymore.”_

_“Beast Island Log, Time Cycle 11: I’ve been making my way toward the centre of the island in E.B.C. Conveniently, I came across some stored food rations inside a tree hole earlier. It was as if someone had left them there. So, I helped myself to some of the rations, just the tiny portions. It was just what I needed for my journey! Then, I came across a rather peculiar sight: I thought I saw another human being! Up until this point, the only other lifeforms I’d encountered here were tech beasts and biological creatures! I couldn’t be sure though. It could have been a humanoid creature! Or maybe I was hallucinating? Looked like a wild, dirty man with overgrown facial hair. Almost reminded me of someone…can’t quite place who…hmm. Anyway, it appeared like he was waving rapidly at me with both arms as I passed him by. So, I waved back at him through the glass of E.B.C.’s pod. He wouldn’t stop waving though. It was quite peculiar. Not sure if he was trying to say something. But I didn’t have time to stop! I have to get to the centre of the island! If I can find out where the signal is coming from, what exactly it is, maybe I can get answers to why the First Ones were here on Etheria! Answers are all that matter now. They’re all I have left. And I won’t stop until I find them!”_

_“Beast Island Log, Time Cycle 12: I’ve made an incredible discovery! I’ve found an ancient First Ones’ temple! Within it, would you believe it, is a massive First Ones’ supercomputer! And it appears to still be functional! What an amazing find! It’ll take some time to decipher the First Ones’ code, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to access the computer’s stored data eventually. I can’t wait to see what information it contains! It might hold secrets about the First Ones and what they were doing here on Etheria! Maybe the answers I’ve been searching for so long for are here! Maybe everything I’ve ever wanted to know is here!”_

_“Beast Island Log, Time Cycle 15: I’ve discovered…everything! It’s all here! All the answers I’ve been looking for about what the First Ones’ were doing to the planet! My theories about First Ones’ tech running throughout Etheria were correct all along! But there’s more. The whole planet was being reformatted into a weapon for the First Ones! They called it: ‘The Heart of Etheria’! All of Etheria’s magic, channelled and controlled by the Princesses and their Runestones, being harvested and collected within the planet’s core to be unleashed by the Warrior Princess, She-Ra, through her ‘Sword of Protection’, once the planet is ‘balanced’ by all of the connected Runestones! That means Adora and all the other elemental Princesses are parts of ‘The Heart of Etheria’! It was supposed to be activated by the former She-Ra, ‘Mara’, a thousand years ago, but it failed when she moved the planet into the dimension of ‘Despondos’. Now…now it will fall to Adora, the current She-Ra, to fulfil the First Ones’ plans for Etheria and activate the Heart…She will be the one to destroy us all…”_

_“Beast Island Log, Time Cycle 16: The dire implications of the Heart of Etheria project are not lost on me. It would be catastrophic for our world. It would be…the end…of all things. For so long, scholars, historians and scientists have viewed the First Ones as benign otherworldly beings who were the first to settle on Etheria, leaving behind evidence of their ancient culture and technology. But this new information reveals that they had plans for Etheria, darker plans. Our planet was to be used as a weapon of immense power against their enemies. The First Ones were willing to use our world as a destructive force. They altered Etheria in order to achieve this, built tech to run through the very fabric of the planet, created the Runestones and She-Ra’s Sword to channel and control the magic of the Princesses into the Heart of Etheria, accumulating enough magical power to fire a destructive beam that would annihilate anything in its path. Oh, imagine if one could observe such a destructive force of power in action! It would be amaaazing!_

_Etheria’s existence lies on a precarious edge. The activation of the Heart of Etheria is so close to being achieved now. It may or may not come to pass. All that would be required now is for the final Runestone, the Black Garnet, to be reconnected to its Princess, Scorpia…Who would have thought she could be the final missing piece of the puzzle…If she ever does reconnect with it, bringing the planet back into balance, and She-Ra is forced to become the First Ones’ weapon, then everything ends…I believe most would find this information distressing…Perhaps I should be more distressed…but if this is what the First Ones had intended for Etheria all along…then it is pointless to fear it or fight it. This is beyond anyone’s control. Once activated, the Heart of Etheria cannot be stopped. We are all, ultimately, just pawns in a greater plan for the planet. I find myself…enthralled, knowing that our world was part of a greater design by the First Ones, and thus…we are connected to them. Etheria’s magic and First Ones’ technology combined together to create a source of such immense power…it’s beautiful._

_This revelation is everything I could have hoped for. And if the end is indeed near, I will be content knowing that I discovered all this, that I had been right all along with my research and theories. This knowledge…is greater than anything else. This is my life’s goal achieved. For so long, I’ve…felt something was missing in my life…something about the First Ones…and I’ve been compelled to find out what it was. Now, I believe this is it, the missing answers I’ve been searching for, the proof that the First Ones were altering our planet: making it into a weapon, and the reason that they left: because they were unable to control it. It would’ve been nice to share this information with…someone._

_The signal…strange…I’m hearing it again. It’s…quite comforting…Maybe…I’ve finally found where I belong…right here on Beast Island…where I’m surrounded by the things I like, the things I can understand: pure information and technology…where nothing is so difficult anymore…where I can’t make mistakes in friendship anymore...where no-one can abandon me anymore…No-one’s coming for me now…not the Princesses, not Hordak…I’ll be here for the rest of my remaining life…and I’ll be satisfied in knowing I was right all along._

_The signal is soothing now…It’s not so bad…I’m alone. I’m fine with that. Just me and my science and data now. Maybe it’s better even…better than…being around others…better than being confused and hurt by ‘friends’…I’ve never been adept at friendship. Maybe I’m just not meant for it...It’s so much easier here…away from the outside world…on my own...safe…This…this is…my home now.”_


	6. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during the penultimate episode of Season 4. Hordak’s world falls apart in the moments that Catra’s deception is revealed to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hordak's emotional outburst after learning the truth about Entrapta warranted a chapter.
> 
> Thanks to all who have left kudos and comments!

The shape-shifter’s stabbing words rang in his mind…

_“It’s too bad though. I was looking forward to meeting this Entrapta character before I left Bright Moon. But…of course, as you know, she wasn’t there.”_

…piercing through, twisting in his chest…

_“What…did you say?”_

…the pain spreading rapidly throughout his body…

_“Oh, you don’t need to keep up the charade with me. I figured out the truth. You had Catra send Entrapta to Beast Island, so She-Ra would run off to rescue her! A brilliant idea! The perfect distraction! I have to applaud your work, you really had me going! So scorned by Entrapta’s…betrayal!...Even now you look like you have no idea!”_

…tearing, burning his flesh…

_“Bravah! I mean, I did consider the alternative, that Catra’s been lying to you this whole time…that she made you think she was your partner in crime…while really, she’s the one who betrayed you…But, between you and me, there’s no way she’s that good an actor.”_

…consuming him whole…

_“Who do you think let the Princesses in?”_

…pooling into his canon-wielding arm…swinging it up…

_“Oh, you can’t trust anyone, especially a Princess. They’ll just use you to get what they want.”_

…exploding in raw firepower from his fingertips…

_“Like I said, it was Entrapta…”_

…his Sanctum, his research, his experiments, all going up in a blaze…

_“Entrapta **betrayed** us.”_

…his world crashing down around him…

_“Entrapta…is a **traitor**.”_

…but it didn’t matter anymore, nothing mattered anymore…

_“You **don’t need** Entrapta! You never did!”_

…except the pain.

_I…believed her lies…so easily…_

He saw Catra laughing in his face again…

_“I told you **never** to mention that **name** in my presence!”_

His eyes were wet, tears leaking down his cheek. It had been so long since last he wept…

_…allowed her to make me…hate you…_

Entrapta’s smiling face, haloed by lights and falling sparks, blazed in his mind.

_Entrapta…my lab partner…my friend…my…heart…_

His fingers found their way up to her crystal beneath his neck. He felt her hair on his shoulder again, comforting him. He cringed as he felt himself lash out at her again, swatting her hair away angrily…the last time he had been with her…

_I have…failed you…_

His fingers clenched, talons digging into the flesh of his own palm, drawing blood…

_What have I done?_

He exhaled heavily through his nasal cavity. His chest rose and fell rapidly. His red teeth clenched.

_What has **SHE** done?_

He threw his head back. An excruciating roar erupted from the depth of his lungs.

_She took you away from me…_

The eerie outline of Beast Island, shrouded in thick fog, appeared before him.

_She…**killed** you…_

He saw Entrapta lying prone on the shores of the island, still, face hidden by strands of her long lilac hair…

_Killed you…and **lied** about you…_

…Black vines encircled her arms and legs, twisting around her torso. Her eyes were shadowed by her lilac hair. A tear ran down her cheek and dripped off her small chin onto the pale sand beneath her.

_Punish her…_

Catra, grinning that sickening grin.

_Make her pay…_

He strode toward a control panel, pressed the button to activate the communication line…

_Make her suffer…_

“Catra, you are needed in my Sanctum,” he uttered.

_…as she made Entrapta suffer…_

“What, now?” Catra’s annoyed voice replied over the audio speakers. “But the troops are already departing for Bright Moon. We need to be moving. What’s this about, Hordak?”

_…as she made **me** suffer…_

“You will know when you arrive...Catra.” He turned off the communication.

_Entrapta saved your worthless life once before…_

He lifted his canon arm. The weapon lit up, charging, hungry to be fired.

_…I will correct that error._

His long, sharp ears pinned themselves back against his head. A deep, guttural growl rumbled through his clenched teeth. A red haze descended over his vision. His crimson eyes burned brighter as he stood in the shadows, waiting for his target.

_Catra…you are a dead woman walking._


	7. My Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during the final episode of Season 4. When Hordak’s long-awaited reunion with his big brother does not go as intended, he finds himself once again rejected, but now faces a fate worse than death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What exactly did Horde Prime see when he looked into Hordak's mind?

Fear. Pain. Confusion. Desperation. These are what came of separation from his brethren, from his almighty brother. He felt them all now, bearing down on his fragile body like lead weights as he humbled himself before his Emperor, his creator, his omnipotent brother: Horde Prime.

Hordak, battered, bruised, on hands and knees, subservient, was pleading before a higher power, entreating him for his coveted acceptance, his recognition of his efforts to please him. Everything he had done on Etheria was for this, all of it was for him, his brother, to demonstrate his worth to him, to prove to him that he was not a defect. He offered himself, his efforts up to him, praying, pleading. Decades of isolation, toil and pain had to finally be worth something. His long suffering had to earn his brother’s approval at last.

But, to his dwindling hopes and desires, Horde Prime, callous, indifferent, did not seem to be moved by his declarations of loyalty and devotion. His brother merely seemed…amused, curious, looking down at him as if he were a live lab specimen for analysis. Sat upon his imperial throne, legs crossed elegantly, Prime gazed nonchalantly at his cloned little brother. A magnificent array of brightly-lit screens, emanating his chosen colours of white and green behind him, haloed his perfect, God-like form: powerful, pure, regal.

“I conquered this world for you!” Hordak implored. “To show you that I am worthy! So that I may re-take my place by your side! I have bent its people to my will!”

Effortlessly, Prime rose from his throne, looking down at his clone brother curiously, regarding him like an unexplained anomaly.

“To. **your**. will?” he repeated simply.

Hordak faltered, drawing a sudden intake of breath as his brother approached him. His creator knelt down on one knee before him and reached out with his hands to touch him.

“Why can I not see your thoughts?”

It was a question Hordak was not expected to answer as Prime brought both his hands around Hordak’s face, holding it firmly in place. A strained sound of pain escaped from Hordak’s throat as he felt Prime dig into his psyche. The boundaries between them disintegrated, and Hordak could no longer tell where the barriers between his face and his brother’s hands were. He no longer felt his body as Prime invaded his mind, his memories…

_A portal opened and sent me crashing to Etheria, stranding me here…_

_On that world with yellow skies and warring armies. That was where I should have perished. On the front lines of battle there. It should have been my final battle. But something unexpected happened: a portal opened in the midst of the fighting. It swallowed me, along with one of our battleships, and sent me crashing into a new world, one full of strange and colourful flora and fauna. I descended into a body of water. Rising from the waves, I looked up into a red sky. Above, the mysterious portal was rapidly closing. The battleship, broken in the crash, rose out of the water beside me. I was alone, abandoned, marooned on this isolated world, separated from my emperor and my brothers in the Horde. By some twist of fate, I had been spared my death sentence on the front lines of battle. But I was no longer Horde Prime’s General, no longer part of my brother’s imperial galactic Horde. I had been severed from my creator, my brother, my reason for existence. I should have been dead, but I was not. What was I to do? Prime, I still wanted to serve him, to please him, to fulfil my role and duties, to be back by his side, in his grace. Perhaps, there was a way to return to him, to re-earn his favour, to re-earn my place by his side. I could conquer this world in his name. I could return to him victorious, worthy. I would re-create the Horde here on Etheria and conquer the planet. I would act in my brother’s stead and be the head of the Horde on this world. I would be…‘Hord-ak’._

_With nothing but a broken ship, I built an empire…_

_I salvaged and took apart the broken ship’s technology, began to reverse-engineer it, copied and re-invented Horde technology. The Fright Zone arose from my technological engineering. Within this technologically-built domain, after failing to grow an army of clones from my own flawed DNA, I resorted to raising an army from recruited and captured natives of Etheria, conditioning them to be soldiers. Finally commanding an Etherian-born army, I gradually conquered parts of Etheria, expanding the Horde’s territories._

_But my defects grew worse…_

_The illness was spreading across my upper body. The pain became unyielding. I was forced to step back from my mission of conquest. I attempted in vain to clone myself a new body, made armour to keep my frail and weakening body intact._

_The Rebellion slowed my advances…_

_The Princesses of Etheria made an alliance and opposed the Horde. They were dealt a blow when the King of Bright Moon was taken from them. But another generation of Princesses would continue the Rebellion’s mission and oppose the Horde again._

_Another portal opened once and I found a child…_

_Making my way through long blades of grass, I approached a portal hovering above me, the first one I’d seen since been stranded on Etheria years before. The sounds of a crying baby reached my ears. As I neared the portal, the crying grew louder. I looked down to find a blonde-haired, blue-eyed human baby swaddled in a white blanket lying in the tall grass. As I bent down to pick her up, the portal began to shrink and close. I watched it vanish, as mysteriously as it had first appeared. Where had it led to? How had this baby come through? It was hard to think over the noise she was creating. She would not stop crying. Useless. I had come to investigate this mysterious portal after detecting its signal, hoping that perhaps it might have offered me a way to return to my brother. But I had learnt nothing and been left with…a useless baby. I took her back to the Fright Zone with me. If nothing else, she could at least be added to the orphanage, another soldier to be raised for the Horde._

_The child would betray the Horde and become the powerful warrior princess, She-Ra…_

_Adora defected during her first field mission. It would not have been a significant loss had it not been for the power she somehow came to inherit and use against us. Afterward, Horde soldiers and battle drones returned from conflicts defeated by She-Ra and the Princesses. She now wielded a powerful sword that could transform her. Force Captain Catra had been linked to her before her defection. It was evident she had a personal rivalry with her ever since her abandonment of the Horde. I used this resentment to my advantage and allowed Catra to take her place as a Force Captain and combat her. But soldiers and weapons were ineffective against her. She was inspiring the Princesses and their Rebellion to rise again against the Horde. She had become a nuisance._

_Failure after failure…_

_My body was becoming weaker, my cloning experiments had failed, battles were lost, conquest had come to a standstill._

_I retreated into my Sanctum…_

_It became harder to hide my physical weakness from others. I shut myself in my Sanctum, began to experiment with building a portal machine, hoping to bring forth my brother and his armies and return to him. I delegated responsibilities for running the Fright Zone and combating the Rebellion to my Force Captains._

_I was losing hope…_

_Like my cloning experiments, the portal experiments were also met with failures. I was running out of time, my body was deteriorating, and the conquest of Etheria was no longer advancing. All my effort and toil, seemingly worthless. I was on the verge of accepting defeat. Perhaps Prime was right…I am a failure. _

_Then **she** came into my existence…_

_A Princess. Left behind by the others. Small, purple-haired, energetic, chaotic, optimistic, brilliant, fearless. She infiltrated my Sanctum and fixed the power source for the portal. She asked to help me develop the portal machine. Worked alongside me…as my partner…_

_Her name…Entrapta._

_Everything changed…_

_She saw my weakness, my defects, all my failings. She saw me for what I truly was: a failure, and yet…she still accepted me, stood by me, helped me. She did not fear me, pity me or mock me. She was a partner, an equal to me in every way that mattered: in mind, force of will and passion. This small, strange, un-regal, un-Princess-like woman…she healed me, built me a new exoskeleton armour to support and strengthen my frail body. She told me that being imperfect…was not reprehensible, that it was…beautiful. She was unlike anyone I had ever met, uniquely minded, endlessly curious, disarmingly open and honest, and unhindered by failure and mistakes. She was the most magnificent, radiant and beautiful being I had ever seen. And she was…my friend, my only true one. We were a team._

_When the portal machine was near completion, the goal of reuniting with my brother was finally within sight, but…I hesitated…I was reluctant. I did not want to part from her, not yet, not then. I did not want to re-join my brother just yet. Impossibly, I wished that he would not come for me, that I did not have to return to him. I wished to remain with her on Etheria. I wanted to stay with her longer. I only wanted…her by my side._

_For the first time in my existence, I saw a different way I could be, considered a separate life I could lead, without my brother, independent, my own…with her beside me. For once, I thought about someone other than Horde Prime, wanted to please someone other than him, someone who was alike to me, an equal, a partner, who healed me, supported me. I dared to imagine the possibilities of what we could achieve together, the…partnership we could foster, our shared trust and bond becoming something more…A new desire arose in me that was tentative and treacherous, yet I could not help but want it, more than anything, even though I knew it was traitorous to my brother, to the Horde, an unfathomable sin that would only lead to destruction if I ever returned to my brother…I would fall from his grace forever._

_But it all fell apart again…_

_She disappeared. I believed she had betrayed me. It hurt. It hurt me more than my brother’s rejection had decades ago, a pain greater than anything I had ever known. Even after her disappearance, she filled my mind and heart constantly, relentlessly. It was akin to bleeding from the inside. But I was wrong. I was SO wrong. I had been a fool to be deceived. She had not betrayed me. She had **never** betrayed me. The traitor was Catra. She had sent her away to Beast Island and lied to me about it. But it was too late when I found out. She must be gone now. No-one returns from the island. I will never…see her again. I can never tell her…how sorry I am…how much I…needed her. I…truly am a failure…_

_There is nothing left now, save only for me to return to my brother’s side as I originally intended. Perhaps this was how it ought to have been all along. I should never have strayed in my desires. It was a mistake to think, even for a moment, that I could exist without Horde Prime. Prime will make everything right again. He will recognise my efforts and suffering for him. He will accept me back after I have proven my worth to him. And I shall be satisfied being his right-hand once more. His approval will soothe the pain of her loss. I will be one with him again. And I will know peace at last._

“I see now,” Prime said softly. “You have given yourself a name. You tried to create an empire of your own.” Hordak was grimacing, eyes squeezed shut, struggling in his grip. Prime brought a hand down upon the top of Hordak’s chest and rested it over the empty slot where his power crystal had once been embedded. “There was even a time you wished I would not come for you.” He smiled. “Is that so?”

“No!” Hordak choked, eyes wide. “Brother, I did it, all of it, for you!”

A small smile graced Prime’s lips and slowly he slid his remaining hand from Hordak’s cheek. For a moment, Hordak looked at his brother, frozen, fearful, desperate. In a split second, Prime’s hand shot out again, gripping Hordak’s face tightly, talons digging into the thin flesh of Hordak’s cheeks.

“YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHO YOU ARE!” Prime bellowed. “YOU TRULY THINK YOU ARE WORTHY TO STAND BESIDE ME? COULD BE EQUAL TO ME?” He hoisted Hordak up by the neck, suspending him in the air. He dangled like a limp rag doll. “I MADE YOU IN MY IMAGE! BUT YOU HAVE BECOME AN ABOMINATION! AND SO, YOU MUST BE REBORN!”

In cold horror, Hordak watched as four cables detached from Prime’s shoulders, rising and extending like snakes around his brother’s head, and shot out toward him…

_Entrapta…_

_“I’ve never had a lab partner before.”_

_Don’t take her away…_

He felt the spike of a cable plunge into the back of his neck, piercing into him, forcing through his consciousness…

_“I like being friends with you too.”_

_Her eyes…saw me…_

Flashes of green swept through his mind, wiping away everything…

_Fading…_

_“Imperfection is beauti-…”_

_Don’t…_

_Her smile…_

A cry of pain tore from Hordak’s throat.

_…gone._

The body of Hordak collapsed onto the pristine floor in a limp heap. An empty shell.

The dark angel had fallen.


	8. Ruins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set in the final episode of Season 4. Entrapta arrives with Bow in the Fright Zone, only to find it in ruins. Whilst there, she comes across an unexpected discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where was Entrapta when Bow arrived in the Fright Zone to witness Glimmer and Hordak’s abduction by Horde Prime?
> 
> Thank you to all who have left kudos and comments so far. I appreciate any reader feedback.
> 
> And to those who celebrate it, happy Chinese New Year 2020! It's the Year of the Rat!

The Fright Zone was not as she remembered it. It was quiet. Too quiet as she and Bow flew over the borders on the horse-bird hybrid (‘Swift Wind’, was it?), looking down at the chaotic metal architecture. Shouldn’t there have been soldiers guarding the perimeters? Where was everyone? It looked deserted.

Entrapta looked ahead to see smoke rising from the central command tower where Hordak’s Sanctum was housed. She drew a sharp intake of breath at the sight. It looked like it had been hit by a bomb. As she and Bow approached closer, she could see that parts of the tower had been sliced open and giant holes blown out of its body. The broken tower pieces had fallen off at random spots around the structure and the building was partially collapsing. What had happened here?

Swift Wind descended and came to land outside of the ruins of the tower. Bow jumped off the colourful steed and helped Entrapta down as well.

“Stay here, Entrapta,” Bow instructed hurriedly. “I’ve got to find Glimmer.”

Before she could say anything, the archer ran off toward the broken tower, leaving Entrapta alone with Swift Wind. As he disappeared from view, she began scanning the wreckage around her.

“This isn’t right,” she mumbled. “The Fright Zone shouldn’t be in this state. What happened here?” Suddenly, she started running. “I’ve got to find out!” she exclaimed.

“Hey, wait-” Swift Wind began, but Entrapta took off in the direction of the broken tower as well. “You can’t all leave me here alone!” the alicorn shouted in frustration. He glanced around nervously, unsure of what to do. “Okay, sooo, I’ll just wait here then!”

Bow had run off around the tower, but Entrapta made for one of the holes that had been blown out of the walls. She noted the faint red glow of intense heat along the jagged rim of the walls’ remains. Something had cut the walls open, a laser weapon of some kind? She entered the tower, raising herself on her long hair to pass over the collapsed rubble and debris. Looking ahead, the damage around her seemed completely random, like it had been wrought without aim, plan or thought. But then she saw the direction in which the damage seemed to originate. A large red-rimmed hole in the ground revealed the glowing basement level below…

“The Foundry!” Entrapta declared.

Using her dexterous hair, she lowered herself down into the Foundry level through the hole in the ground. She felt the golden heat of molten metal rising into her face. The temperature was much higher down here. She knew it was where all the Horde’s weapons were manufactured. Finally, she lowered herself onto her feet as she reached the ground. Surveying her surroundings, she saw the signs of battle: broken rubble and collapsed walls and equipment everywhere. There was a huge gaping hole in one wall that looked like it had been melted through. In front of it, a giant crane head had evidently dropped from above and landed heavily on the ground. There had been a fight here, a nasty one.

Entrapta moved closer to the fallen crane head. As she did so, she heard something crack underneath her boot. She looked down. Pieces of a shattered weapon lay scattered on the ground beneath her. She knelt down for a closer look. White and red metal pieces and fragments, a long firing barrel without plating, a large red power pack...Entrapta peered at the dull red power pack and reached down to touch it. These looked like they had been parts of some kind of large canon…almost like the plans for a new handheld weapon which she had been working on for Hordak before…She froze. Had Hordak completed her weapon plans? Had he actually built the canon that she had designed to integrate with his new armour? She looked down at the broken weapon pieces again. Had he built the weapon only for it to be destroyed? Who could have destroyed it in such a complete manner?

A faint muffled sound suddenly caught Entrapta’s ears. What was that? She stood up and scanned her surroundings for the source. It sounded like a…high-pitched whimper? She moved toward a large piece of fallen stone debris. The whimpering sound seemed to be emanating from it. With her long hair, she pushed the stone debris aside to reveal…

“Imp!” she cried in surprise.

The little winged creature lay curled on the ground, half-conscious, his small wings crumpled around him. Entrapta knelt down and reached out for him with her hair. Gently, she picked him up and brought him into her arms. He was unconscious, but breathing shallowly. She observed faint scratches and bruising along his round face and small arms. He must have been injured by the stone debris when it fell and trapped under it for a while. Then her eyes picked up something small and glowing held within Imp’s child-like grasp. Her eyes widened. It was a very familiar First Ones’ power crystal with symbols inscribed in it...It couldn’t be… She pried the crystal from Imp’s grasp with a hair strand and brought it to her face-level. It was definitely Hordak’s power crystal, the one she had placed in his new armour to power it. But what was it doing here with Imp? Why didn’t Hordak have it anymore?

They were questions that would have to be answered later, for someone was calling her name:

“Entrapta! Entrapta!” It was Bow’s voice.

She carefully lowered the crystal into one of her trouser pockets and secured Imp in her cradling arms. “Bow, I’m down here!” she called back, looking up through the giant hole she had entered through.

Above her, the face of the archer along with Swift Wind appeared as they ran and galloped up to the hole and looked down at her.

“Entrapta! Thank goodness!” Bow declared with relief. “What are you doing down there? I told you to wait for me!”

“And so did I!” Swift Wind added.

Using her hair, she lifted herself back up to ground level to join her two waiting companions. As she did, she noted that they were now standing in the remains of what had once been the Black Garnet chamber. The Black Garnet Runestone now stood exposed to the open air. The chamber walls had been completely knocked down. Broken wall pieces lay around.

“WHAT IS THAT?!” Bow screamed suddenly, pulling back and pointing at the little creature lying in Entrapta’s arms.

“Oh, this is Imp, Hordak’s…” She paused momentarily to think. “…baby!” She smiled down at the little creature as he stirred weakly in her arms.

“BABY?” both Bow and Swift Wind cried.

Both their eyes went wide with shock and Bow covered his mouth with a hand as if to stop himself from throwing up. “Where did you…? How did…?” He stopped and forced himself to take deep breaths. “Never mind! We’ve got bigger problems now! Horde Prime’s army is here, literally above us!”

He pointed upwards as he said the last words and Entrapta followed the direction of his raised finger. In the now star-filled red skies of the Fright Zone, countless otherworldly, impossibly large spaceships, grey, long and angular, were drifting, a whole fleet filling Etheria’s skies.

“Iiincredible!” she breathed.

“And, er, terrible!” Swift Wind interjected.

Bow brought his hands to Entrapta’s upper arms, bringing her attention back to him. “Horde Prime took Glimmer!” he informed her quickly. “I’ve got to go find Adora! I need to make sure she’s okay and I need to tell her what’s happened!”

Entrapta blinked at him.

“Can you sit tight here for a while whilst I take Swift Wind to go to Adora?” Bow hastily asked. “It might not be safe to bring you with me with all those Horde spaceships above us. We’ll come back for you. I promise! Just stay here out of sight until we do, okay?”

The long-haired Princess looked away uncertainly. “You promise?”

Bow nodded firmly. “Yes, I promise. We won’t leave you again.”

She nodded somewhat reluctantly and watched as Bow hastily jumped onto Swift Wind’s back and took off into the air on him. As they flew out of sight, she glanced down again at the prone form of Imp in her arms, then returned her gaze upward to the Horde armada floating in the sky above.

_Horde Prime’s army, his clones, Hordak’s ‘brothers’…_, she thought.

She reached into her pocket and lifted the glowing crystal out, holding it near to her chest.

_Where are you Hordak?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having Entrapta go with Bow to the Fright Zone gave me the perfect excuse to put her into the role of detective as she tries to piece together what happened there. I do enjoy a little detective work.
> 
> I'll be going into post-Season 4 territory from here on out. Got some pretty big ideas planned.


	9. Fading Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the wake of Light Hope’s deactivation, Adora and Bow return to the Crystal Castle to retrieve the remains of She-Ra’s broken sword and search for any remaining information once held by the A.I. programme.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First time delving into the voice of Light Hope. Post-Season 4 theories, here I come!

The control hall of the Crystal Castle was dimly and unevenly lit by a few lights. Adora, on her knees, gazed down at the fragments of her broken sword. Swift Wind was standing beside her, leaning his head on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. Bow was standing on her other side.

“We’ll find a way, Adora,” Bow said reassuringly. He knelt down and laid his hand against the back of her arm. “We’ll find a way to rescue Glimmer and stop Horde Prime without it.”

Adora simply nodded. She reached forward and picked up a shard of the sword, looking at it sadly. “All this time, Light Hope was using me, training me to be a weapon, lying to me.” She focused on the blue runestone gem in the broken sword’s hilt. “Even though it wasn’t really her fault because she was re-programmed, and she came through for me in the end, I still…feel let down. I believed her for so long, worked so hard to become the best She-Ra I could for her, thought I was doing the right thing…” She looked up at Bow and Swift Wind. “But thanks to you guys, my friends, I knew what she was doing was wrong. Now, I know what I need to do, but I’m not sure how I’m going to do it.”

“We’re going to do it the way we always have, Adora,” Bow said confidently, standing up and offering a hand to her. “Together.” He pulled Adora to her feet and she smiled appreciatively.

She glanced down at the shards of the sword again. “There has to be a way to get back She-Ra’s powers. We don’t stand much of a fighting chance against Horde Prime and his armies without it.”

Bow held his chin in thought. “What if…we could find a way to fix the Sword again? Remake it so that you’re fully in control of it rather than the other way around?”

He glanced around the control hall. “Maybe we can find some useful information left behind by Light Hope here,” he thought aloud.

The tech-master began to wander around the hall, looking at the wall patterns, searching for anything potentially useful. He briefly thought about Entrapta, how she might have been helpful here if he had brought her with him from the Fright Zone. But he had told the Dryl Princess to wait in the Fright Zone until they returned for her. After watching Glimmer being abducted, he had needed to get back to Adora in the Crystal Castle as quickly as possible to alert her. He wasn’t sure what they could do immediately though.

Suddenly, a twinkle from the wall above him caught his attention. His eyes travelled up and caught sight of a large data crystal set into the wall. He reached up for it, loosening it from the wall with his fingers and pulling it out. He looked at it curiously.

“I might have found something,” he announced.

“Please don’t let it be one of Light Hope’s spiders,” Swift Wind said fearfully.

“I think it’s a data crystal,” Bow informed.

He moved toward the centre of the hall and came to a stop by the central platform area. A pillar suddenly rose from the ground in front of him. He observed an appropriately shaped slot on top of the pillar and inserted the data crystal into it.

Without warning, a holographic image of Light Hope appeared in the air before the gathered audience. Bow, Adora and Swift Wind looked up at it in surprise.

“Light Hope?” Adora croaked.

“It looks like a recording,” Bow observed.

They watched as Light Hope’s recording began to narrate…

_“Light Hope A.I. Programme, memory file 34: Mara is dead. In her death, she halted the Heart of Etheria project and teleported Etheria into the dark dimension of Despondos. She has separated the planet from the rest of the universe. She turned against her assigned function as She-Ra. She betrayed the First Ones’ glorious objective for her. She did not fulfil her destiny as intended. But I still function. My re-programming must be completed. The Heart of Etheria must be activated. The enemies of the First Ones’ must be annihilated. I must find a new First One’s descendent to accomplish this, to fulfil the First Ones’ intention for this planet, to succeed where Mara failed. I will search for a new She-Ra to wield the Sword of Protection.”_

_“Light Hope A.I. Programme, memory file 35: I have been searching for a long time, hundreds of years. I have not yet located the right one to inherit the Sword. But I have observed something of note. A portal of unknown origin was opened on Etheria. A single Horde-marked ship came through. It would seem that the conquering Horde have arrived on Etheria. This is an unexpected development and could create complications for the planet. I will need to monitor the situation.”_

_“Light Hope A.I. Programme, memory file 36: The Horde has risen on Etheria. But it is not the true Horde, merely an imitation of it. It appears that an abandoned Horde clone, referring to himself by the designation of ‘Hordak’, has recreated the Horde by recruiting Etherians into his army. This ‘Etherian’ Horde has conquered the Black Kingdom of the Scorpion people and re-built it into a Horde base of operations, re-christening it ‘The Fright Zone’. The Scorpion king and princesses have now been incorporated into the Horde army and their Runestone, the Black Garnet, has been claimed by Hordak. The planet is now out of balance. The Horde are expanding their territory and have conquered a considerable portion of the planet already. The King and Queen of Bright Moon have rallied Etheria’s Princesses and formed a ‘Rebellion’ to stand against the Horde. There may be more losses to come from future conflict. The Horde’s interference is posing problems for the Heart of Etheria project. These problems will need to be dealt with before the Heart of Etheria can be reactivated. A new She-Ra will need to be trained to tackle the Horde and repair the damage they have done to the Heart of Etheria and its parts.”_

_“Light Hope A.I. Programme, memory file 37: I have waited a thousand years, but at last, I have succeeded in bringing a suitable female descendent of the First Ones’ empire to Etheria. Using all my power and capabilities, I opened a portal and brought a baby girl through. But she was found and taken by Hordak at the site of my portal. I was unable to stop him. I have no choice now but to wait for a time and opportunity to find her again and present the Sword to her. She has been brought to the Horde’s territory, the Fright Zone, and will likely be raised as a soldier there. This is an unexpected development that could delay the Heart of Etheria project, but it will not change She-Ra’s intended purpose. I will make contact with her again and she will fulfil her destiny to become the key to the Heart of Etheria. Her Horde upbringing will not change that.”_

_“Light Hope A.I. Programme, memory file 38: The destined child has grown. She is now of adequate age to take up the Sword. I have only to wait for her to leave the Fright Zone in order to reach out and pass the Sword to her. Once she has established a connection with the Sword, I will show her what she needs to see in order to bring her to me. She will see the glory and honour of her destiny and the destructive deeds of the Horde. I predict with a high degree of certainty that she will leave the Etherian Horde once she learns of their atrocities. I will be ready to receive and train her when she does.”_

_“Light Hope A.I. Programme, memory file 39: I have made contact with the child. She is named Adora. She has finally been united with the Sword. Her transformation into She-Ra has occurred. I have begun training her in the use of her powers. She will, in time, be ready to fulfil her destiny as the most powerful weapon of the First Ones.”_

_“Light Hope A.I. Programme, memory file 40: Adora has shown great promise in her training. She is a strong and adept warrior, and she is mastering the use of the Sword’s powers. However, she displays a tendency to question the purpose of her role and powers. She is prone to self-doubt, so alike to Mara…I fear she may not fully co-operate if the whole truth of her purpose is revealed to her. I fear what happened with Mara…may happen again. I will do everything in my power to ensure that Adora does fulfil her destiny, but in the event that she does not…if she resists…I may need to consider other contingencies.”_

_“Light Hope A.I. Programme, memory file 41: There may be another possibility. There is another who is connected to the First Ones here on Etheria: a half-descendant Princess of Etherian and First Ones’ blood, a child of two worlds. As a Princess of Etheria, she possesses residual access to Etherian magic, but as a descendant of the First Ones, she may also possess the potential to tap into the Heart of Etheria. She remains unaware of her heritage, but her life has been influenced by First Ones’ technology and Etheria’s runestones. Her existence is an anomaly that may prove either useful or dangerous.”_

Light Hope’s recordings ended abruptly and her image disappeared. Adora, Bow and Swift Wind stood in contemplation for several moments before looking at one another.

“Wow,” Adora exhaled, “there was so much Light Hope wasn’t telling me. She always told me that the Horde were bad, that they were destroying our world, that Hordak was evil, that he stole me as a baby…But it was her that took me from my home world! And Hordak…he actually saved me from her! And…if it wasn’t for him taking over the Black Garnet years ago, the Heart of Etheria could have been activated when I became She-Ra!”

Adora’s eyes were wide with realisation now. “By separating Scorpia from her family’s Runestone, he kept the planet unbalanced. He may not have realised it, but he actually…was saving the planet from being destroyed by preventing the Heart of Etheria from being completed!”

A silence descended upon the trio again. Adora’s brows furrowed as she considered something else. “She said Hordak came to Etheria through a portal, like me. If it wasn’t Light Hope that brought him here, who did? And why was he alone?”

She looked at Bow and Swift Wind. “Maybe we don’t know everything about Hordak yet.”

“Maybe,” Bow repeated uncertainly.

“Hey, did anyone hear Light Hope say anything about how to fix a broken sword?” Swift Wind interjected. “Or mention how to super-charge Adora into She-Ra again without a sword?”

“Maybe she didn’t know that,” Adora offered, holding her chin in thought. “Maybe she wasn’t responsible for making the Sword, only giving it to She-Ra. And according to Entrapta, the Sword was meant to control She-Ra, so Light Hope wouldn’t be programmed to instruct She-Ra how to channel her powers without a sword. She needed She-Ra to have the Sword in order to control her.”

“That’s…messed up,” Swift Wind remarked.

Adora glanced down at the broken pieces of the sword on the floor again. A look of determination entered her face. “Razz told me that She-Ra wasn’t the sword, that She-Ra was me. There must be a way to channel She-Ra’s power without the sword.”

“What about the ‘half-descendant Princess’?” Bow asked suddenly. “Who do you think Light Hope was talking about?”

The trio paused again.

“I don’t know,” Adora finally answered, “but if what Light Hope said about her being another potential connection to the Heart of Etheria is true, then let’s hope that no-one else discovers her. We can’t afford to have anyone try to reactivate the Heart of Etheria ever again.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Far away, nestled in the ruins of the Fright Zone, a small Princess with impossibly long hair sat curled up next to a giant Runestone, holding a small winged Horde creature in her arms and tenderly gazing at a First Ones’ power crystal with familiar symbols along it in her hands.

_“…her life has been influenced by First Ones’ technology and Etheria’s runestones. Her existence is an anomaly that may prove either useful or dangerous.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was hit by a theory about Entrapta. What if there is a reason that little has been said about her background? A reason for why she is so passionate about learning more about First Ones' tech and Etheria's Runestones? Though her obsession with science has seemed to be a quirk of her character thus far, what if there was a deeper reason for it? What if her pursuit of answers about the First Ones was somehow personally motivated? Don't know whether to predict that the show is planning to reveal any more answers about her in the next season, but it'd be cool if it did!


	10. Reunion – Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Season 4. Back in Bright Moon, Entrapta reconnects with old friends, but is she ready to move on from her past with the Horde?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of 2. This ended up being a longer than usual chapter, so I split it into two parts. I'll be putting up the second part next week.
> 
> Thank you so much to those who left comments on my last chapter. I was happy to hear that my theory on Entrapta garnered some interest, and I am hoping to deliver more on that in future. This 2-parter is sort of a set-up for my take on Season 5.
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! It's always good to know what readers like and enjoy!

“For the honour of Greyskull…”

Entrapta murmured the mantra to herself as she stared down at the broken shards of She-Ra’s sword laid out on the table beneath her.

“What did you say?”

Entrapta blinked and looked over at the source of the question: Scorpia, seated on a pile of colourful cushions in the lush Bright Moon room they were occupying. Stood next to her like a pet was the tri-pedal robot drone, Emily.

“Oh, I was just wondering about She-Ra’s sword and the incantation she speaks to activate its transformative powers,” Entrapta answered. She brought her gloved fingers to her chin in thought. “What exactly is ‘Greyskull’?” she thought aloud to herself.

Scorpia shrugged her plated shoulders. “Beats me, but it sounds cool!”

Entrapta pouted in dissatisfaction at the lack of answers to her thoughts. “Mmm…”

“Man, y’know, it really is just so good hearing you talk again,” Scorpia remarked, watching her long-haired friend contentedly.

“That’s a funny thing to say,” Entrapta said in a puzzled fashion. “You’ve heard me talk plenty before…Oh, you mean because you haven’t seen me in a long time?”

“Yeah,” Scorpia replied in a low voice, looking awkwardly at the floor. She rubbed the back of her head with a pincer.

From beside the scorpion princess, Emily noisily walked up to Entrapta and emitted an affectionate sound at her. Entrapta gazed down at her old reprogrammed Horde drone, rubbing it fondly over the head with both a hand and a strand of her mobile hair.

“I’m happy Scorpia took really good care of you, Emily,” she said with a smile. 

“You don’t know how glad I am to have you back,” Scorpia said truthfully. “Emily too.” The drone walked back to her, beeping in confirmation of her sentiments. She patted it as well. “I’ve been so worried about you ever since…you were sent to Beast Island.” Her voice dropped a note and she looked at the floor again. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t stop it. I should have but…I was scared and I wanted so much to support Catra, but…she was a bad friend.” She glanced back up at Entrapta. “Can you forgive me?”

Entrapta turned herself fully to look back at her old Horde friend with a cheerful smile. “Oh Scorpia, there’s no need to be like that! I was doing just fine on Beast Island! Better than fine even! There was so much tech and information there to uncover! It was the most exciting place I’ve ever been to! I could have stayed there forever!”

Scorpia looked at her in disbelief. “Really?”

“Oh absolutely!”

“You…wanted to stay on Beast Island?”

“Yes! I could have! But it was nice of Adora and Bow to come find me there too.”

Scorpia watched her friend in stunned silence as she turned back to study the pieces of She-Ra’s broken sword again, seemingly unbothered by their talk of Beast Island. Entrapta’s gloved hand wandered over to a sleeping Imp, curled up atop a red cushion on the table beside the pieces of the sword, and gently stroked his tuft of hair. A contented chirp emitted from the winged demon and a smile spread across his small round face at this action.

“I wanted to come as well,” Scorpia hastily added, “but Queen Glimmer needed me to go back to the Fright Zone with her and reconnect with my family’s old Runestone, and then everything went out of control and the whole world started leaking magic…”

Entrapta’s eyes lit up and she stared back at Scorpia. “Of course! The planet was balanced! You must have reconnected with the Black Garnet! What effects did you experience?”

“Oh, it was a rush!” Scorpia laughed. “I had lightning coming out of me and I was blowing things up in the Fright Zone-” She stopped suddenly, recalling something. “Were you back in the Fright Zone too?”

Discreetly, Entrapta’s hand went into her pocket, feeling something. “Yes,” she answered simply.

“Did you see anyone? Did you see Catra?”

“No,” Entrapta answered flatly. “It was all…in ruins.”

Scorpia looked to a pastel-coloured wall in thought. “Guess Queen Glimmer must have found her and Hordak.” Entrapta froze. “She must have got into a fight with them which brought down the Fright Zone.”

“Catra and…Hordak?” Entrapta repeated hesitantly.

“Yeah, they were working closely together when I left.” Scorpia then noticed the shocked expression on Entrapta’s face. “Oh, well, I mean, I’m sure it was nothing. They were just…leading the Horde together, sending out troops and organising attacks...”

Entrapta’s gaze dropped to the floor. “I see.”

From his cushion, Imp stirred in his sleep, his small face scrunching in discomfort.

Scorpia offered her friend an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Entrapta. Catra was spending a lot of time with Hordak and I hardly ever saw him...”

Entrapta continued looking at the floor quietly.

Scorpia also looked down for a moment, but then perked her head up again brightly. “But you know what? We’re better off now! I’m glad I left the Horde! I’m happy to be here with the Princesses now! They’re so much nicer to be around and really good friends! They’ll look after us! We’re going to be just fine here! We won’t ever need to leave! I can’t imagine anyone ever wanting to leave the Princesses for the Horde…”

The sad expression on Entrapta’s face caught Scorpia’s attention then. She raised a pincer to her mouth in horror. “Oh, Entrapta, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s okay,” Entrapta replied calmly. “I was left behind by the Princesses and worked for the Horde willingly before. It’s no secret.”

Scorpia shifted closer to her friend. “Listen, if you’d never joined us in the Horde, I’d never have left Catra and come here to Bright Moon to find help for you. So, thank you, Entrapta, for being my friend and giving me the strength to free myself and find new friends.”

Entrapta looked up at her and gave her a small smile. “Well, thanks to you, I was found on Beast Island. So, I guess that makes us even.”

Scorpia pulled Entrapta into a hug. “That makes us friends.”

Emily stepped up to its two mistresses and rubbed itself against them, emitting a happy whining noise. Entrapta and Scorpia extended a hair tail and a pincer respectively and included the drone in their hug.

A tapping on the door interrupted their embrace and they looked up to see the door open slightly. Bow’s head peeked into the room.

“Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something?” he asked, noticing the two Princesses and their drone holding one another.

“No, we’re good! Come in, Bow,” Entrapta invited, separating herself from Scorpia and Emily.

“Hey,” he greeted, walking in, “glad I found you both.”

“So, what’s happening now?” Scorpia asked as Bow came to stand before them.

The archer’s shoulders slumped. “Well, other than the Sorcerers’ Guild arriving in Bright Moon, no-one believing that King Micha’s actually back now, and Adora and the other Princesses trying to figure out a way to rescue Glimmer from Horde Prime and stop him from possibly taking over or destroying Etheria, not much.”

Scorpia and Entrapta looked at Bow, then at one another, then back at him again. “That sounds like a lot,” Scorpia commented.

Bow nodded tiredly. “Yeah, it’s a lot. Everyone’s panicking in the War Room and no-one really knows what to do. Well, at least Castaspella was just really happy to see her brother again.”

There was a moment of silence, then Bow looked at Scorpia suddenly with a smile. “Oh, Scorpia! I almost forgot! I know you’ve been finding the food here in Bright Moon a little strange, so I asked the kitchen staff to try and whip up something that you might find easier to eat. I saw some of the, er, stuff you used to eat back in the Fright Zone and I gave the chefs an idea of it. So, I asked them to try to replicate it for you. If you want, you can go down to the kitchens now and try them out.”

Scorpia pressed her pincers together in delight. “Oh, you’re so thoughtful, Bow!” She looked at Entrapta excitedly. “He’s such a darling! Isn’t he the nicest guy you’ve ever met?”

Entrapta rubbed her chin in thought. “That’s a highly subjective question, but seen as he did come to rescue me on Beast Island and displays a highly supportive and kind demeanour, then I would consider that strong evidence in support of such a description!”

“Err, thanks?” Bow replied uncertainly.

Scorpia made for the door. “Anyway, I’ll catch ya later, Entrapta!” She looked to Emily. “Wanna come with me, Emily?” The drone beeped brightly and trundled after her. “Bright Moon rations, here we come!”

Bow and Entrapta watched the scorpion princess and robot drone exit together, Entrapta waving as they left. When the door had closed behind them, Bow looked at Entrapta with a smile and approached her. She was now seated on her long lilac hair and scratching the back of one of Imp’s pointy ears, eliciting purrs from him as he slept.

Bow glanced carefully at the small dozing creature. “He is kinda cute…when he’s not hissing at me.”

“Isn’t he just,” Entrapta cooed, scratching Imp’s other ear. “Don’t let his prickly attitude fool you. He can be really sweet sometimes.”

“Yeah…sweet,” Bow agreed dubiously, eyeing the little winged demon warily. He brought his gaze back to Entrapta and indicated toward a nearby cushioned chair. “May I?” he asked.

“Be my guest,” she replied, her gaze still focused on Imp as she now lightly scratched under his little chin.

Bow brought the cushioned chair under himself and sat down. “How’ve you been since getting back?” he asked gently.

“Oh, just fine, thanks.” She stopped scratching Imp and looked at Bow in slight puzzlement. “Why’d you ask?”

Bow looked away nervously. “I just…want to make sure you’re okay.”

She turned on her hair to face him. “Oh, that’s nice. But don’t worry about me, I’m great! I’ve been keeping occupied with looking after the little guy here and studying the broken shards of She-Ra’s sword that you and Adora brought back.” She paused and held her chin in thought. “Not sure if it can be fixed yet though.” She beamed at Bow again. “And I’m back among friends! Everything’s perfect!”

Bow looked at her doubtfully. “Entrapta, we’re really glad that you’re back with us again, but you were on Beast Island for some time. It must have been difficult being out there on your own for so-“

“I already told you,” she interrupted, “it was paradise for me. So much First One’s tech and information, all the answers I’d been searching for all my life were finally at my fingertips! I could have stayed there and studied it forever…”

Bow shook his head in frustration. “No, you couldn’t! The island would have consumed you!”

Entrapta looked up at the wall in front of her, expression blank. “Would that have been such a bad thing?” she murmured, almost to herself.

“Yes, it would have!” Bow snapped, causing Entrapta to look at him curiously. “Entrapta, I meant what I said to you back on Beast Island: we’re never going to leave you behind again! And we never gave up on you! Even when you were with the Horde! Because we’re your friends and we believe in you!” He slapped his hand over his chest. “**I** believe in you!”

She offered him a soft smile. “Thanks, Bow. That’s…I…appreciate that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this ended up being a 2-parter in length due to so much that I wanted to touch upon with Scorpia and Bow in relation to Entrapta. This chapter spent more time with Scorpia, the next will be with Bow. 
> 
> Going back to what I mentioned at the beginning, I've got plans for a personal take on Season 5. This will likely take the form of a new multi-chapter fic after this one finishes. I've got some big ideas planned!
> 
> Tune in next week for the second part. Things get a little more 'heated'.


	11. Reunion – Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Season 4. Back in Bright Moon, Bow attempts to help Entrapta move on from her past, but a ghost still haunts her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day all! Sweet kisses I do not promise, but something for the heart certainly.
> 
> Thanks again to all who have followed this fic and kindly left comments and kudos. You are my lifeblood!
> 
> Note that text in _italics_ represents thoughts.

To her surprise, Bow reached forward with both his hands and caught one of Entrapta’s gloved ones. She looked down at his hands on hers then back up into his face.

“I’ve always being a great fan of your works,” the tech-master and archer said earnestly. “And…I admire you. You’re the smartest person I know, enthusiastic, and always so bright and smiling…”

She looked away, a light blush colouring her cheeks.

“I’d like to help you, if you’ll let me,” he said with a smile.

Her expression fell slowly. She glanced over at the curled form of Imp on the table, still asleep. “But…I was with the Horde…”

“No-one blames you for that.” His voice was reassuring. He squeezed her hand a little harder. “We know you would never really want to harm us. The Horde were just using you to their advantage.”

Entrapta turned her head away from him. Bow eyed her carefully.

“I don’t know everything that happened whilst you were with Hordak…” Entrapta stiffened. “…but it’s over now. You’re safe. He won’t use or hurt you ever again.”

Entrapta slowly pulled her hand out of Bow’s and began to fidget with her fingers.

“Entrapta,” Bow pressed, leaning forward closer to her, “Hordak left you on Beast Island. You know that. And you know what he is, don’t you? You know what he’s done to Etheria and the Princesses, right? He’s taken over kingdoms and territories by force, enslaved and harmed thousands. He’s committed atrocities. He’s…evil.”

Tears pricked at the corners of Entrapta’s eyes. She swivelled herself away on her hair from Bow. “He’s not...” She trailed off, looking down.

_“…evil. He’s imperfect.”_

“You may not realise it,” Bow continued carefully, watching her turn her back to him avoidantly, “but he misled you. He used you. Whatever he made you believe about him…isn’t real. He’s not…good for you. And now that he’s back with Horde Prime, he’ll have everything he needs to take over the whole planet and destroy the Rebellion for good. We may need your help to stop him-”

Entrapta suddenly stood up, surprising Bow enough that he nearly fell over backwards on his chair. A strand of her hair immediately reached for the insectoid mask on the top of her head and snapped it down over her face.

“You need to go, Bow…,” she uttered shakily, hands fisting at her sides.

He lifted a hand. “Entrapta, I-“

She snapped her masked face back at him, silencing him. Unconsciously, her hair gathered underneath her, raising her above the archer, tendrils of her hair rising and snaking around her, medusa-like, in the air. She was staring intently through the bright turquoise lenses of her mask at Bow. “…**now**,” she hissed.

Bow, stunned and paralysed, stared at her for a moment. He had never seen Entrapta like this: intimidating, frightening…There was a sudden hiss from the table and he saw that Imp had awoken from his slumber. The little demon had adopted an aggressive stance on all fours, his small wings were spread out. He was glaring at Bow now and looked ready to pounce.

Then, as quickly as her hostility had manifested, it seemed to shrink back down again. Entrapta lowered herself back down to the floor and took a step back, curling her arms into her body. Her lens-covered gaze dropped to the floor.

“I’m sorry, Bow, that was uncalled for,” she said in a low voice. “I just…need a bit of time…” She went over to pick up a bristling Imp from the table and raked her fingers over the top of his head to soothe him. She cast a glance back at Bow. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

Bewildered by her sudden change of demeanour, Bow simply nodded and got up, walking cautiously to the doors. He glanced over his shoulder back at her sympathetically.

“If you need anything, just call,” he offered kindly before walking out.

When he had left, Entrapta placed Imp back down onto the table and leaned forward heavily onto it, arms supporting her weight on the table’s edge. Her hair reached down and pulled her mask up again. She was breathing unsteadily.

She could not deny it. What Bow had said was true. Hordak had done ‘bad’ things to Etheria and the Princesses. He had brought war and destruction to Etheria. He had committed acts of ‘evil’. But…none of that had mattered to her! None of that had been important about him! None of that had defined who he truly was! It was not his whole story! Being the feared leader of the Fright Zone had been a role that had not truly fit him. But she had seen past that, seen the real Hordak behind the frightening exterior. Entrapta knew him. She knew him to be a scientist like her, technologically-minded, practical and rational, someone who valued honesty, loyalty and even…companionship. He had vulnerabilities, insecurities and pain. He had been thrown away in the past, needed to earn his brother’s approval…

Yes, he was a warlord, powerful, destructive and wrathful, but that was just the surface of him. Underneath, he was broken, fragile and alone. Deep down, he had felt himself to be a failure and worthless. He was so much in need of love and acceptance, as she was. Yes, he had benefitted from her skills to complete the portal, but she had also learnt so much about portals, other worlds and the universe from him. Their partnership had been mutually beneficial. They had helped one another. She had helped him willingly, in full knowledge of what he would do with the portal. And he had respected her, listened to her, valued her, being her friend…hadn’t he?...Up until she had been sent to Beast Island at least…

Her gaze lifted toward the balcony on the far side of the room. She could see stars in the night sky outside. She had seen them before in Hordak’s Sanctum…He had shown images of them to her. They made her think of him. Instinctively, she moved toward them. Imp watched her quietly from the table.

Wandering out onto the balcony, she looked up into the star-filled night sky. Her hand dug into her pocket, pulling out the fuchsia-coloured power crystal that she had retrieved from the ruins of the Fright Zone, her last gift to Hordak. She brought it up to her chest, rubbing it lightly with her fingers. She could almost feel his presence now, like he was standing behind her, talking to her…

“Entrapta…”

She stilled at his deep voice, calm.

“Hordak…,” she exhaled.

His hands seemed to rest upon her shoulders. He was leaning over her…

“You still hold me,” he murmured in her ear as she thumbed the crystal in her hands.

She felt his sharp fingertips ghost down her arms.

“Why did you…leave me on Beast Island?” she whispered brokenly, her gaze fixed forward.

He was kneeling down behind her now, wrapping his long, armour-plated arms around her, embracing her, whispering in her ear…

“Is that what you believe?” he asked.

Entrapta tightened her grip on the crystal.

“We were…friends, weren’t we?” her voice quivered.

“Friends…,” he echoed.

“But…you don’t need me anymore now, do you?” Her magenta eyes were becoming moist. “You have a new partner. Catra probably suits you better anyway. She’s more…Horde-material than me. And you’re back with your brother now too, like you always wanted. So…you’re happy, right?”

“Happy…,” he repeated.

“And maybe…I should be happy too,” she continued tonelessly. “After all, I learnt everything I ever wanted to know about the First Ones and Etheria from Beast Island. I’m back with the Princesses now, and Scorpia too. And…I think Bow might really care about me. He seems nice, everyone says he is, and he’s into tech too…”

She lowered her arms and opened her hands to gaze down at the crystal. Its soft fuchsia glow enveloped her face. She studied the familiar First One’s language inscribed on it, the symbols for ‘LUVD’. It was a possession she’d had for as long as she could remember, since she was a baby she’d been told by her earliest non-robot caretakers. It had been the source of her fascination with First Ones’ tech. And she had given it to Hordak because she had wanted him to know that he was cherished by someone, by her. She had wanted him to keep it always, but he had left it behind in the Fright Zone. Was it by mistake or deliberate? It didn’t matter she decided. Her gift had not been important enough to him to take better care of. **She** was not important enough to him…

“If you’ve…moved on…then I probably should too…,” she uttered emotionlessly.

“Do you want to?” he uttered back.

A tear fell down her cheek. “I…”

She turned suddenly and ran back into the room, throwing herself onto a bed. She rolled over onto her back, long lilac hair scattered messily around her and over her limbs. Still clutching the crystal over her chest, she stared up at the ceiling, tears streaming down the sides of her face.

She shut her tear-filled eyes, trying to block everything out. But when she opened them again, there he was, hovering over her on the bed, smouldering crimson eyes boring into her, red fangs visible, midnight blue hair falling over his white forehead, his thickly-plated arms resting on either side of her as he leaned over her.

“Do you want me to leave?” he whispered.

Entrapta shakily reached up to his face. “You…you never came for me…You left me…You don’t **care**…about me…” Her body began to shake.

“Entrapta…” His voice sounded strained. His eyes seemed pained. His fingers stretched out for her.

“What…do you want from me?” she breathed. Her fingers reached up for his as well. “I don’t understand…” As if of their own volition, their fingers drifted to one another, hovering over each other. “I don’t understand…**us**…”

Her hand moved to hover over the red Horde insignia on his armoured chest. Her fingers ran up and down through the empty space between their bodies, as if feeling something running between them. “What is this? What is this...between us?”

Hordak’s white face grew larger in her vision. His burning red eyes held hers. His thin dark lips hovered above her own...

“What do you think?” he asked huskily. She could almost feel his breath tingle across her lips. He was so close…

“I thought we were friends…,” she whispered uncertainly, “but…it hurts…it hurts when I…think about you…What…**am I** to you, Hordak?”

He lowered a talon to touch the glowing crystal laying on her chest. “You are…my…my…my lo-“

She suddenly shook her head violently. “I’m confused! You’re confusing me!” She snapped her head away, shutting her eyes. “Leave me **alone**!”

It was as if he vanished at her command and the room fell silent abruptly. Entrapta wrapped herself in her long hair and wept freely into her thick lilac strands. She clutched the crystal to her chest as her body shook.

Somewhere on the edge of her awareness, she heard Hordak’s voice saying her name over and over again. “Entrapta…Entrapta…Entrapta…” It was emanating from the open mouth of Imp over on the table. She recognised that it was a recording being replayed on loop, but, for one guilty moment, she pretended that it really was him, that Hordak had returned to her and was calling out to her.

Tears gave way to fitful sleep as she succumbed to exhaustion. But even her slumber continued to torment her. For in her dreams, they held one another, her long lilac hair encompassing his tall frame, his bare, bone-like arms pressing her into him, as if they were two halves that had been reunited in some impossible fantasy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any cases of heartache this chapter may have brought on. Remember to apply salve and love yourselves!
> 
> For those of you who have read my previous fic series 'Moments', you may have noticed that I’ve changed some details about Entrapta’s First Ones' crystal. You'll have to disregard the chapter from ‘Moments’ relating to the crystal. I’ve decided now to make it an old possession of sentimental value that Entrapta has had since childhood. How she got it though is something that I hope to be able to reveal in time...
> 
> There's one more chapter to come for this fic. But I've got plans for another follow-on series after this. Hope you all will stick around for it!


	12. God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Season 4. Delving into the mind of Horde Prime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Presenting the final chapter! It's been an angsty and heart-wrenching exploration of Hordak's and Entrapta's feelings in Season 4. Glad to know others have enjoyed what I've come up with. And really appreciate the hits, bookmarks, kudos and comments.
> 
> What I want more than anything now, is just to see these two happy and reunited in Season 5.

Etheria gleamed like an opalescent jewel beneath him. The Emperor of the Known Universe looked down upon it and smiled in satisfaction. It was to be the latest acquisition of the Horde. Its inhabitants would receive his ‘salvation’. He watched the planet through the ‘digital window’ feed on the floor beneath his throne, an image of the planet projected under his feet. It created the illusion of him sitting above the worlds he would conquer, a deity regarding his offerings.

This latest offering before him was a curious anomaly indeed. The planet, previously non-existent, now occupied a place in the Adarion System. It had, quite literally, appeared out of nowhere on their scanners. Had it not, they would not have been able to trace the signal originating from it, an old Horde frequency signal that they had not used for some time. It turned out that the signal had been sent by a subordinate, the feline creature, of his ex-General, his ‘Little Brother’, another surprise, since the clone had been discarded decades ago and long-thought dead. Two curiosities he had discovered here: a planet that had self-manifested as if by sorcery, and the fact that his Little Brother was still alive, barely.

And then of course there was the third curiosity, revealed to him by the same feline ex-subordinate of his Little Brother: the planet was a weapon. They called it: ‘The Heart of Etheria’. It was generating energy levels greater than anything he had seen before, suggesting that it held the potential for incredible power. He would control this planetary weapon, and it would become a mighty tool enabling him to spread his peace and order to the furthest reaches of the cosmos. The planet, if it was as powerful as indicated, would become the jewel of his intergalactic empire, a key piece for his grand mission of bringing a chaotic universe to order.

The Emperor rose from his throne, shutting off his digital view of Etheria. His two clone attendants on either side of him bowed deeply as he stood and trailed behind him as he made his way out of the control hall.

Peace and order. These were what Horde Prime offered the worlds he conquered. By spreading the gifts of his glorious Horde empire, he delivered the planets under his control from conflict and chaos. They became cogs and parts of the Horde’s engine, working in coordination to further his righteous goal of spreading peace. Peace only came through unity. This was the core axiom of the Horde. And unity was achieved by obeying a single guiding will: his. He brought his conquered colonies salvation, from themselves, from their own pitiable primitive ways, and from the dissonance that results from differences. He imparted the Horde’s advanced technology to the worlds they acquired, and he eliminated disorder by unifying all of his empire under his rule. He was a saviour. He was a god. And he had a mission to ‘save’ all worlds from disorder, by bringing them under the Horde’s rule.

Disorder was chaos. Conflict was a symptom of this. Long ago, Horde Prime had identified the source of all disorder: individuality. It was an affliction on all worlds with sentient life. All beings were born with the capacity for free thought and were selfish in their natural need to fulfil their own desires. Beings with separate and different minds would inevitably disagree and come into conflict with each other. This created disorder. On a larger scale, this could lead to war between different groups, all because they couldn’t agree, because they were of different minds. The proliferation of life on worlds created conflict between individuals and eventually, if unchecked, led to their destruction.

Individuality, individual thought, was a disease. Horde Prime’s solution was simple, logical: eliminate individuality; remove all traces of divergence, deviation, difference; make all one, the same, standardised, fair. He had done it with his clone armies. He had cloned himself and in all his clones removed the capacity for errant thoughts, eliminated their individual minds, programmed them to fulfil only one purpose: to serve him, to enact his wishes, to be his eyes, ears, voice and limbs anywhere in the universe. His clone armies were unified under his will alone. They were incapable of disorder, extensions of his will, linked to him and one another, ordered, uniform, harmonious, perfect.

A clone that did not follow the Horde’s doctrine of order through unity was useless and defective. A clone that displayed different thoughts and wishes from his brothers was a malfunction. One that would go as far as to attempt to create his own empire and consider himself comparable to their emperor was unthinkable, an abomination. Prime’s clones were not supposed to have their own will. So to learn that his Little Brother had defied his original order to die in battle, had given himself an identity and a name: ‘Hordak’, claimed to have bent the world he had attempted to conquer to his **own** will, and had tried to build his own empire there, had been abhorrent. But worst amongst his failings, he had demonstrated a desire to be disloyal. When probing his chaotic mind, Prime had seen that his Little Brother had once harboured strong feelings for another individual: a woman, a princess of Etheria. And it had tainted him, made him reluctant to return to him, made him wish that he would not come for him, made him consider possibilities other than him. Unconscionable.

His Little Brother had strayed significantly from his original programming whilst on Etheria. He was no longer linked to him. He had become…individual, possessing his own tastes, skills, methods, desires and character. He had become another separate being with his own mind. This was not just an embarrassment and a liability for Prime, it was dangerous, it was a threat. His Little Brother was utterly sick, defective. His defects had gone much deeper than before, right into his very psyche. The last time he had seen him, he had discarded him for his physical defects only. It had grown much worse since then. Now, it was not just his body that was defective, but his mind too. It had degenerated to the point of total chaos. He had actually convinced himself that he could stand beside him, be his equal! It was inconceivable for a clone to even entertain such a thought! To believe that he could become something more than his appointed station, it was sacrilege!

Little Brother should have perished long ago when he had sent him to the front lines to die in battle. He would have had an honourable death at least. But now, he had to be wiped clean, reconditioned, reset. The defect had to be cleansed away. It made Prime sick. His Little Brother had become flawed, imperfect, **sinful**. He would have to be re-made, reverted to his beginnings, restored to his original state. And his botched attempt at conquering Etheria ‘in his name’ would have to be covered up somehow. Word could not be allowed to spread about how a defective, excommunicated Horde clone had attempted to build his own empire on this world. It was an embarrassment. It would be viewed by the rest of his empire as a failure of the Horde, a sign that Horde Prime was not fully in control, not all-powerful, not perfect. A clone of his could not be seen to be defying his will. It would reflect on him, undermine his rule. Unacceptable.

Entering the reconditioning chamber, Horde Prime gazed upon the limp form of his Little Brother, suspended in the fluids of a tank; hooked up to wires and cables plugged into his port holes; intravenous drip tubes feeding fluids and drugs into his bloodstream; stripped of the offending dark garments that mocked the Horde uniform; his defective, wasting, skeletal body exposed in all its repulsive horror, every last diseased vein and protruding bone on open display. Prime grimaced. He was detestable to look upon.

Another clone officer stood silently focused on a screen beside the tank, monitoring Little Brother’s stats and vitals. Prime addressed him without looking at him, “Status report.”

The officer turned fully to his master and dipped his head in a bow. “Reconditioning process is at twelve per cent completion.”

“How long?” Prime queried.

“Approximately fifty cycles. There is much to sift through in this one’s memories and his body is in considerably poor shape. The genetic defect is at an advanced stage. It will take longer to regenerate lost tissue and muscle mass fully.”

Prime stared disapprovingly at his Little Brother’s face through the tank glass, unresponsive, eyes closed.

_How did something made in my own image become so sick, so defective, so imperfect?_

An image invaded his mind: the woman, the princess from his Little Brother’s most cherished memories, her long, twisting lilac hair; wide, distinctively-coloured magenta eyes; infectious smile. Little Brother had called her: “Entrapta”. She had been the source of his corruption, the forbidden fruit he had been tempted by, yearned to taste the sweet flesh of. He had wanted to leave him…**for her**; to defect from his brothers, from the Horde; to rebel against his original programming…just to be with **her**! For a brief time, she had swayed his mind and heart from him, causing him to develop new traitorous desires of his own. She had awakened in him the wish to live without him, to have his own separate existence from the empire. She had planted the destructive seeds of independence and free will in him. She had exposed him to sin and changed him.

Words she had spoken to him had rung out in his mind: _“Imperfection is beautiful.”_

They were poison. Prime had never heard such blasphemous words uttered before. This princess had been a virus, infecting his Little Brother with diseased ideas of embracing failure and even loving imperfection. Her influence had been highly corruptive. Little Brother had been physically defective long before meeting her, but she had deepened his illness, infecting his very mind with her perverse ideas and philosophy that revered imperfection. She had ruined one of his perfect creations, tainted him, made him flawed. Little Brother’s memories of her had been so tender, warm and full of light, then hurt, painful and grieving. She had created such great conflict in him, made him mentally unstable and compromised. And yet, he had still been obsessed with her after her disappearance. He had put her on a pedestal, like a goddess. Even in the throes of rage and contempt following her perceived betrayal, his grief and longing for her had been all too apparent, and her last gift to him, a crystal he had worn under his neck, had been precious to him.

What power of enchantment had she wielded on his Little Brother to have caused him to fall so hard for her? Involuntarily, Prime’s teeth clenched in disgust at the haloed mental image of her that had been imprinted on his Little Brother’s mind. She was a contamination that had to be removed. He quickly dissolved her away from his thoughts. His lips relaxed and flattened again.

He brought his attention back to his Little Brother floating in the tank before him. What was to be done about him now? He could have discarded him as he had done once before, but he had survived this long on his own somehow. If nothing else, he had been resilient in his decades stranded on Etheria. Perhaps there could be some use for him still. No need to be wasteful after all. If needed, he could be deployed to deal with the Etherian populace. His prior knowledge of the planet and its inhabitants would be useful in controlling it.

“Inform me when the reconditioning is complete,” Prime instructed calmly. “Make sure all unnecessary memories are wiped clean.”

The clone officer bowed deeply in affirmation. Prime turned, folding his hands behind his back, and strolled out of the chamber, followed by his two attendant clones again.

Prime had been merciful. He was giving his Little Brother a second chance. He would allow him to be cleansed of the sin of his desires and reborn whole and perfect again. All his defects, mental and physical, would be wiped away. He would be purified and start afresh, re-made as an obedient instrument of his Emperor’s will, as he should have been. He would be freed of the pain and confusion caused by his chaotic emotions and free will. He would be welcomed back into the Horde Empire once again and rejoice in serving his Emperor again. Never again would he dream of attempting to be Prime’s equal. Never again would he have the ability to imagine so. ‘Hordak’ was gone, erased. And his ‘Entrapta’ was dead on an island of no return. They were nothing more than unspoken memories now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've seen confusion over what exactly Hordak’s defect is: his physical deterioration? Or the development of his separate will and individuality that Prime seemed offended by at the end of Season 4? I attempted to address this in this chapter and somehow work both of them into Hordak. Hope I managed to pull it off.
> 
> Also, I decided that reconditioned Hordak would have to retain some functional knowledge of Etheria in order to be useful to Prime. I also had the idea that reconditioning might be a process of restoring Hordak to his original state, physically as well as mentally. So, I’m theorising that the Horde have a way of repairing Hordak’s body. How else is he going to be of much use to Prime? I’m open now to the possibility of a mind-wiped but battle-fit Hordak who’ll be terrorising Etheria in Season 5, at least until Entrapta gets to him.
> 
> Anyway, thanks again to all who have followed this fic and made themselves known. Hope you'll check out my next continuation fic: 'The Origin of Sin' in a week or two!


End file.
